The First Time
by Silverflare07
Summary: .Based on OoT. Four firsts of Link's incredible journey and the last time he thought about them all. .Link centric with mentions of Malon/Link.


Okay. Let me start off by saying that I have _no _idea where this came from. I was playing Zelda (almost religiously) and then all of a sudden I was hit with this. It's probably horrible, I'm still getting used to this (_side notes_) style so it may not be the best.

I guess you could call it a compainion piece to my other LoZ fic _Fairy Boy_, which is supposed to be a sequel to _My Mother's Song_, but pretty much can stand alone. I would suggest reading that first or the ending may seem a little odd. If you want to create your own story about how Link got back (_you'll see at the end where I'm talking about_) and what happened while he was there, then by all means skip my other fics and just enjoy this one.

oOoOo

The first time you sense how dangerous (_how epic_) this quest is really going to be isn't until you're in Kakariko Graveyard. You're standing in front of the royal tombstone, wondering off handly why the Royal Family isn't buried somewhere closer to the castle, and you raise the ocarina to your lips. You know there's a secret inside this tomb, one that will help you on your quest. And you're young and eager and can't wait to save the world, so you jump at the chance to acquire anything that would help. You don't exactly have all the time in the world, you hear the Princess' voice in the back your mind, urgent (_nagging_), asking you to bring back all the Spiritual Stones. So, asking forgiveness from the gods, you _are_ desecrating a tomb after all, you begin to play Zelda's Lullaby, sure that this secret will be like all the rest you've uncovered.

But suddenly the sky is dark and lightening flashes. There's a bright surge of energy growing at the base of the tomb, unlike anything you've ever seen, and, for the first time (_Gohma was just a giant spider after all_) you are truly frightened. The energy pulsates dangerously for a moment before there's an explosion and your thrown backwards into the ground. Your eyes are closed and you think for one terrifying second that you have made a horrible mistake. When you open your eyes however, aside from steady (_ceaseless_) rain, everything is back to normal.

Except for the hole in the middle of the ground where the giant headstone had once stood. There are scortch marks around the hole, the only sign that something might have been on top of it at all. You peer into the vast depths and shudder. You've taken a few mighty plunges before (_there was no other way to break that web inside the Deku Tree_), but this time you can't see the bottom and there's just no way to see who (_what_) is down there waiting for you.

But you're still young and eager for an adventure, so you take a breath and jump into the dark, knowing (_hoping_) that you'll land safely at the bottom.

oOoOo

The first time you realize how beautiful (_frighteningly beautiful_) this quest is going to be isn't until you're standing at the end of the Ice Cavern and watching Sheik as he plays the Serenade of Water. He finishes the song and instinctively you bring out your ocarina and begin to imitate the melody. The music surrounds you, amplified as Sheik begins to play again as well. There's a chill in the air that has nothing to do with the fact that you're surrounded by ice. It has everything to do with the eerie black walls and multicolored diamonds that seem to stretch on forever. As you stand alone in this room that is breathtaking (_but so empty of any feeling_) with Sheik you can't help but shudder. You are strangely connected to this boy, you almost feel as if you've met him before (_you have_). But you first met Sheik two months ago inside the Temple of Time, while you were still adjusting to your new "grown up" body.

The song is over and, after a few words that you barely register (_the awe is too great_), Sheik is gone in a flash of light that tingles somewhere in the back of your mind (_it's too familiar_) and your standing alone in a room that sends chills down your spine even though you've long gotten used to the cold. You've faced countless of things that you'd never suspected possible. Ghosts, Phantom's, the living dead (_those Stalfos had disturbed you most of all, skeletons. . .shouldn't be moving_), none of them took your breath away as much as this small room tucked away in the back of Zora's Fountain. It was too much to comprehend, even for someone who grew up in a world with legends and fairies and children who never grew up.

You pull out the iron boots (_no where near the strangest item you've picked up on your quest_) and move over to the hole of icy water that is waiting for you. You play the Song of Time to remove the ill placed blue block and marvel once again at the power in the notes (_music moves the soul. . .but blocks?_). The iron boots are heavy and make walking somewhat painful but you've still got the heart (_mind_) of a child so you're willing to endure a little (_a lot_) of pain for an adventure. Not to mention that saving Hyrule and world seems like a worthy cause.

You take one look at the hauntingly beautiful room (_and see a flash of hauntingly beautiful green eyes_) before taking the last step off solid ground. It's not until you feel the cold wetness hit your legs that you wonder how you'll be able to breath underwater.

oOoOo

The first time you realize how much faith this quest is going to take isn't until your holding the Hover Boots and listening to the small voice of Navi explain how they work. You study the boots carefully. They don't look like anything that could hold up the weight of a human body. The Iron Boots were logical (_they at least worked with the laws of physics_), but you're sure it's going to take a lot of faith to put on nothing but boots and walk on thin air. You've traveled through time several times (_sometimes you just miss the way Hyrule _used_ to be_), you've battled the physical form of your inner demons, and walked underwater without needing to breath all because of a piece of cloth. Walking on thin air shouldn't scare you. The very idea shouldn't have you shaking (_quaking_) in your boots. But it does.

You think perhaps it's just this whole place. The Shadow Temple is beneath a graveyard for heaven's sake! The smell of death and decay is all around and you just know that hidden in the shadows, in a darkness so thick and complete that even the lens of truth can't see through it, something is waiting to get you (_something truly evil_). There's very little light in this place, and what does exist comes from the odd blue flame that you've only seen once before. It does little to actually light the place, but it sends the shadows spiraling (_dancing_) outward until they're everywhere. The silence swallows up any noise you try to make and you've never been in a place so quiet (_deathly quiet_).

There's something unnerving you think, about being in a place where not everything is visible to the naked eye. You've had to search for things before (_whoever created these temples certainly didn't leaves keys lying around in the open, you're _sure_ of that_), but it's never been invisible before (_you're beginning to realize just how big of a difference that really is_). It's only the second time since you've begun this quest that you've ever truly been afraid (_it's also the first that you've ever felt truly alone_). There's no one here but the reminder that _everyone_ is mortal. And you realize that just because you were predestined for great things doesn't mean you where predestined to live through them.

You look across the first (_and not the last_) vast open space of nothing but empty air that beckons you to take that giant (_literal_) leap of faith. The silence of the dead surrounds you (_the sound of giggling that has long since been silenced flits past your ear_), but you hold your breath and take the first step, wondering what it'll feel like to walk on air.

oOoOo

The first time you realize just how much is really weighing on your success (_is this how Atlas feels?_) you're standing in front of the room where Gannondorf is waiting for you (_the piano music is frighteningly loud_). This is the final moment; you can feel it in your bones (_and the shaking fairy above you_). Zelda (_you just _knew_ Sheik seemed familiar_) is inside that room too, you're sure of it, held prisoner by Gannondorf. It's your job (_the Hero of Time_) to save her, to save everyone, and you suddenly feel like that's an awful lot of responsibility for a seventeen-year-old boy.

You've been fighting and fighting (_endlessly_) for almost seven months (_eternity_) and you're tired of it. It was exhilarating as a young boy, eager for an adventure, but now you just want someone to tell you to knock it off (_you're an adult now dammit!_). You can walk on air and travel through time but that's one miracle you know is never going to happen. This is the end of the road and someone is not walking away from this castle alive (_you hate the very real possibility that _no one_ could walk away_) and it's the most frightening thought you've had since you had to walk on air with nothing but faith and your trusted Hover Boots (_so much as changed_).

But all the children in the Kokiri Forest, all the Zora's at Zora's Domain, all the Goron's at Death Mountain, and all the poor people who fled Hyrule Castle Market for the (_semi_) safety of Kakariko Village are counting on you and you know it. There is no turning back from this quest, no matter how frightened you are, no matter how unfair it seems, no matter how much you want to run away to the only place you feel safe (_the sound of horses neighing_). This is the moment that you'd been waiting for as a little boy and the moment you're dreading as a full-grown man (_months of saving the world can do what seven years asleep couldn't_).

You unsheathe your sword (_miracles have happened, but there's nothing wrong with being prepared_) and take the final step towards the door, pushing it open. The man inside the room turns and grins at you (_an evil grin that sends shivers down your spine_) and you know there's no turning back. One way or another, you've reached the end.

oOoOo

The last time you ever think about your (_epic, beautiful, frightening_) quest isn't until the day you wake up (_once again_) on your seventeenth birthday. You wake up to the smell of horses and hay, cows and cuccos, and nature and freshly squeezed milk. You hear laughter outside your window and know that Malon, Talon, and Ingo are already up for the day. You would be too, except it's a very important day and they wanted to leave you be. You take most of the day to reminisce about a journey that seems far too impossible to be real and far too vivid to be a dream. You fought, Gannon fell, and you were returned to the time you supposedly belonged in (_you don't really belong in either time, but you were far more comfortable there_). So you returned to the one place you still felt safe (_you hear the giggle and see the eyes_) and now, seven years later, you awake to find yourself the same age you were seven years ago (_time travel had never been confusing until now_).

The sound of your door opening brings you out of your thoughts and you smile at the three people standing before you. Malon holds out a cake and grins at you. Happy Birthday, she tells you (_fairy boy is still painfully absent_). Talon and Ingo both give you their wishes as well and you sit with the friends that have become your family (_your family in the forest never grew up, how could you possibly go back_) and maybe something more (_a flash of red and mother's song_) and you realize that you couldn't be happier (_almost_).

You tuck your memories away for now and promise yourself not think of them again. You're quest is over and all the frightening (_impossible_) things that you accomplished (_defeated_) are years and another reality away. And while you've grown accustomed to that reality (_you miss the adventure_), but you certainly won't shun this one. You accepted Zelda's decision long ago, as you'd slip out of the castle courtyard, still adjusting to your old "young child" body. And if you're the only one (_of those who really matter_) who remembers that reality than so be it. It made you the person you are today (_sans weapons_) and you wouldn't change a thing.

Because what's dangerous can be strength giving, what's frightening can be beautiful, what's impossible can be faith instilling, and what's frustrating can be healing. You've walked on air, breathed underwater, lifted things ten times your size. You've conversed with fairies, withstood the heat of a volcano, and raced the dead (_twice_). You never realized how important it all was until it was over and (_seemingly_) didn't exist anymore. The people you met (_a fish fiancé, who'd heard of such a thing_), the things you learned (_you can leap without looking and land just fine_), and the fact that, despite all the horror and pain you endured, you still found a reason to smile (_fairy boy!_).

And if, by chance, someday the world remembers, you know (_just know_) they'll be smiling too.

oOoOo

And that's the end. Like I said at the beginning, I have no idea where this came from, other than I've always been intrigued by the first two scenes I described. I restarted my Zelda game (I'm on a hunt for _all_ the skulltulas and am only missing two and I cannot find them) and was watching the scene where you first enter the Royal Family's tomb and it got me thinking. Not anything coherent of course, as I'm sure you can tell, but I never could resist the urge to just write.

Well, drop me a review and tell me what you think.


End file.
